November Church Council Meeting Highlights

November 4, 2019

• Attendance is down and the financial situation needs improvement. There will be no raises this year.  
• By December 31, 2019 the Sunday School Checkbook account will be deleted and rolled over to the general fund line item and will be handled by the treasure.
• Eve troughs have been put up on the west side of the church building to direct water away from Pastor’s outside entrance to his office and they will be extended to the front of the church.  
• The outside trash room door still needs to be repaired/replaced.  
• Thank you to the person who put an electrical outlet in a flood light box in the front of the church so we can run the nativity lights from it along with the lights for the sign and the cross.  
• In January the B-Dry system will come in and make the repairs to the basement of the parsonage to eliminate the water issues.  
• A quote was received for restoring the stained glass window in the back of the church.  In five years the window will be evaluated again to see if it is time to proceed with the restoration.  
• Three bids were received for snow plowing and Gratiot Outdoor Equipment was chosen for snow removal.  
• We are looking for an activity for Sunday School students to be able to invite friends to come and participate with them.
• Thrivent Action cards have been received for the November and December fundraiser.  The cards will be used to cover some of the cost for the lunch that will be served. Donations will be requested for either specific items or cash which can then be used to purchase additional items for the organization being supported.
• December 3, 2019 a fundraiser was held for God’s Helping Hands of Zion. Some items were not brought here but were dropped off at Zion by the members. Those items are not included in the items received:
  • 130 underwear approx. value $195
  • 150 pairs of socks (primarily children’s) approx. value $206
  • 9 pair of gloves approx. value $16
• Received in goods approximately $417, received in cash $269.  From the congregation $600 was donated to their food pantry for items that they purchase (perishable items, milk, fresh vegetables, etc.) The approximate attendance was 120.  
• There will be a luncheon held on December 15, 2019 which will benefit the BMW food pantry.
• Teen challenge is still being planned for some time in January 2020.
• Great turn out at the Thank You Dinner and yesterday’s fundraiser dinner.  We are working on plans for decorating the church for Christmas.
• Water is no longer collecting by Pastor’s office.  Basement water in parsonage will be fixed January 6, 2020.  We are looking at the Church 360 computer program and continuing to investigate options and learning more about our current program.
• There is a proposal from Roth Electric for the audio improvements in the Church. There is money designated for this audio project and the council voted to move forward with the upgrade.  
• Nomination list will be presented Sunday November 10, 2019.
• Pastor talked about concerns with what the congregation is giving to the church on a weekly basis.  Encouraging even just $5 more per week can greatly help the financial stability of our church.  
• When Pastor is notified to go visit members in the hospital, it is important to let him know they are in the hospital and which hospital they are in.